Marxism on the Basis of Spider-Man

Marxism On the Basis of Spider-Man (2002)

Willem Defoe’s electrifying performance as Norman Osborn, better known as the Green Goblin, is easily the best part of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man (2002). He steals the spotlight in every scene, with a performance exemplifying the informal nature of the golden age of comic books. Defoe is a comic book come to life. He delivers goofy speeches and says phrases such as, “We’ll meet again, Spider-Man!” and is a genuine pleasure to watch. During the third act of the film, Defoe, as the Goblin, gives a very important speech. This speech perfectly demonstrates the off-the-page feel, but, hidden in the over-the-top delivery is an allegory for class struggle. Green Goblin’s speech to Spider-Man, when viewed through a Marxist lens, represents the harassment from the upper class to the proletariat, the consequences that come with revolution, and the image the bourgeois have created of revolutionary leaders to dissuade would-be revolutionaries from taking up arms against their oppressors.

Viewing the speech through a Marxist lens gives way to a whole new level of villainy from the Green Goblin. Analyzing the first true line of the monologue is our main lens. “This is why only fools are heroes.” This phrase could have myriad interpretations. He could be referring to the fact that superheroism is a dangerous profession because it leads to mental trauma over those you couldn’t save and exposes your loved ones to danger because of those who oppose you. What he is truly saying is that taking up revolutionary ideology and convincing others to do so is a foolish choice, and that to rise up agaisnt the oppression of the bourgeois would be an idiotic decision. This is a representation of the propaganda attempting to dissuade the proletariat from grouping together and taking the fight to the upper class. It’s a representation of the liberal ideology that the only effective method of change is through the corrupt system. It’s a representation that the rich’s greatest fear is class consciousness.

Further dissecting his speech gives us insight into Norman Osborn, a millionaire C.E.O turned crazed villain. It lets us understand his view of the consequences of turning against him, or by extension, the upper class as a whole. “Let die the woman you love, or suffer the little children...” This is what Goblin says the choice is when it comes to being a hero, or through our allegory, a revolutionary. Viewing the children as the oppressed, it lets us see that Goblin is saying that to be a revolutionary is to choose between having a fulfilling personal life, and a romantic partner, is to be a traitor to your class and to let the oppressed remain under the boot of oppression. Goblin is making Spider-Man pick between his fellow members of the proletariat, and himself.

The speech as a whole is attempting to convince Peter (Spider-Man) that being a hero is a mistake and that by choosing to be a hero, you can’t have everything. This is a representation of the attempt to make the proletariat believe that you must fend for yourself and that you cannot trust others. The concept of “every man for himself” is one created by the capitalist oppressors and one that implies that we are weaker together. This is yet another attempt from the Emerald Oppressor to weaken the proletariat. It is an attempt to convince Spider-Man to conform to the hierarchy and to bend under the will of Oscorp.

Green Goblin is a stone-cold villain in this film. He does nothing but abuse his class to further oppress the working class through the use of his goblin glider and goblin formula. He does it under the guise of the Green Goblin to not reveal to the proletariat that the true enemy is the wealthy. During one of his final speeches, Norman Osborn uses manipulation tactics to attempt to convince Spider-Man that he is wrong for being a hero, an allegory for a revolutionary, he tries to dissuade the ideology of heroes as a whole, saying that you can’t have everything and to try to is a fool’s errand, and he tries to make Peter into the villain for taking up the mantle of the hero, standing up against the bourgeois.